Then There Were Two
by PiperCheri
Summary: Piper's mistake of facing a Demon she knows very little about causes her to pay with more than her life.
1. Chapter 1

My first Fan-Fic. Please read and review and enjoy ;)

**Chapter One**

"Come on, come on!"

Phoebe Halliwell paced impatiently up and down outside the entrance of P3.

"What the hell is taking so long Leo?" She said as she looked at her wristwatch for the fourth time in as many minutes.

Phoebe had called out to her brother-in-law the second that Piper had taken off into the darkness after the Litgar demon, it seemed like she'd called him ages ago and still he hadn't answered. Hands on hips and glaring up into the dark San Francisco sky Phoebe tried once more.

"Leo! I'm warning you. Get your ass down here right now!"

"That's cute sis." Paige noted from where she sat "Real cute." Paige grimaced and shifted uncomfortably as the blood oozed from the gash in her thigh. Phoebe hurriedly moved towards her younger sister.

"My God, Paige we have to stop that bleeding," Phoebe knelt down beside Paige and tried as best she could to apply pressure to the wound with her hands. "Can't have you bleeding to death now can we?"

"If it's at all possible, no." Paige closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the wall of the club. "Really could do with Leo's magic touch about now Phoebe, why isn't he answering you? Do you think there's a problem?"

"I don't know sweetie," Phoebe said as she gripped Paige's leg harder, Paige gasped with the pain. "Sorry, sorry, I'm sure he heard me and he'll be here any second."

"Piper should have been back by now too." Paige groaned. Phoebe felt sickness rising in her stomach knowing how much pain Paige was really in no matter how brave she was being.

"Well you know Piper, no matter how much she hates being late there always seems to be something that manages to hold her up. I'm sure that she and Leo will be back in no time"

Phoebe tried to sound as convincing as she could, the truth was she was scared, nine times out of ten Leo answered their call quickly and the other time out of ten when he didn't usually meant that something was very seriously wrong. As for Piper, Phoebe was really mad at her, she may be the eldest sister and a really strong witch but that didn't give her the right to go running after demons without help. Phoebe was going to give Piper a piece of her mind when she got back; after all it's only what Piper would do if the situation had been reversed.

Phoebe looked at her younger sister who hadn't said a word for a few minutes; Paige had gone even paler than usual, if that was at all possible.

"Hey," Phoebe tried to sound as lighthearted as she possibly could, "You still with me?"

Paige shuddered. "Could do with a hot cocoa and a warm blanket right about now." Paige didn't open her eyes but just smiled a weak and flimsy smile.

That was it, although she had no intention of showing it, Phoebe started to panic. Piper had been gone a long time now and if Phoebe had ever needed her older sister around to help, this was that moment. The blood coming from Paige's leg had begun to form a small pool beneath them and Phoebe knew that she would soon lose consciousness with the loss of so much blood, no matter how strong she was.

Phoebe glanced around, never once taking her hands from the gaping hole in her Paige's leg. The alleyway where P3 was situated was deserted, usually around this time throngs of people would be milling in and out of the club, but not tonight. Piper had been forced to close for a few days while workmen replaced the creaky old stage inside. A speaker system had almost fallen through a week ago and not wanting to damage equipment or people for that matter, Piper had closed the club while the old stage was ripped out and replaced.

The only thing that could be of any use to Phoebe right now was the Jeep.

Piper had screeched the car to a halt outside the club jumped out and taken off after the demon, ignoring her sisters' pleas not to follow without help. Phoebe would bet her bottom dollar that the keys were still in the ignition.

Phoebe's head was spinning, there was still no sign of the eldest Charmed One or her Whitelighter husband, although she was mad she prayed that they were together and not in any kind of trouble. Phoebe soon came to the conclusion that she was going to have to handle this one on her own, and without Leo to heal Paige it had to be in a more conventional manner, she had to get Paige to the Emergency Room, she needed a doctor and fast. Phoebe turned back to Paige and tried to remain as calm as she could.

"We need to get you out of here Paige." As Phoebe spoke Paige's head lolled to one side, the blood loss was too much, she had succumbed to unconsciousness. "Paige? Honey? Can you hear me? Oh no…. Paige?"

It was no use, Paige couldn't hear her.

Phoebe placed one hand on Paige's leg and with her free hand she reached for the belt on her jeans, unfastening it and pulling it loose from around her waist she looped it underneath Paige's injured leg and tightened it as much as she could with one hand, then using both hands she yanked it taut. Paige didn't even flinch, the blood slowed slightly but Phoebe knew she had to move quickly.

"We got to go Paige, and we got to go now, you just stay with me ok."

Phoebe stood and looked down at her blood soaked hands, she wanted to cry but knew that Paige needed her help and she would have to pull herself together. Taking her sisters hands Phoebe hauled Paige up onto her feet then as gently as she could she lifted Paige into her arms. As Phoebe carried Paige towards the Jeep she tried to stop the tears that had begun to fall down her cheeks but couldn't. Paige was such a strong witch, they all were, but she looked so powerless and vulnerable right now, her breathing was shallow and she felt so cold and lifeless against Phoebe's neck.

"Be there in no time sweetie," Phoebe said as she placed Paige on the rear seat of the Jeep, "We'll get you fixed up good and new."

Phoebe grabbed the blanket that Piper kept in the trunk and laid it over Paige; she carefully shut the door and raced around to the drivers' side praying with all her might that the keys were in the ignition. They were. Phoebe took in a huge gasp of air as she thought about having to leave Piper behind, but Paige was the one hurt and she had to come first. Without hesitation Phoebe started the car, threw it into gear and with tires screeching headed towards the Emergency Room.

"Stay with me Paige, just listen to my voice ok." Phoebe told her sister as she swung the Jeep around the corner away from P3.

"Please God stay with me." She added in no more than a whisper.


	2. Chapter 2

Piper slid to a halt and gasped in horror as the demon she had been chasing swung around to face her and began to change, began to morph.

Not using her better judgment skills the eldest of the Charmed Ones had ignored the advice of her younger sisters and followed the demon into a dark San Francisco alleyway. Rock music was blaring from one of the city's newest nightspots and although Piper could hear a boisterous and delirious crowd enjoying the warm city evening somewhere in the distance, she had never felt so alone, she was alone and afraid.

Clutching onto the vanquishing potion she held in her hand Piper stood tall, her heart was beating so fast and hard it threatened to burst her eardrums. Shifting her feet slightly so that she was both ready for an all out attack or a hasty retreat and not knowing which would happen first Piper took a deep breath.

"Why am I beginning to wish I'd stayed at home?" Piper asked herself, her voice wavering as bright light began to emanate from every pore of the demon; it was slowly enveloping the alleyway like the mid-day sun. Piper blinked and shielded her eyes.

"I think I'm about to wish that I'd never been born."

The light was at its brightest now, all but blinding Piper. The glass bottle that held the vanquishing potion was digging into Pipers hand as she held onto it for dear life, all at once the demon began to scream causing Piper to clamp her free hand over one ear. From what Piper could see through squinted eyes the demon appeared to be growing larger. Piper was scared, she was so scared that even throwing the vanquishing potion didn't happen, Piper was frozen in fear. Piper knew that she should have listened to her sisters about waiting for back up and with Paige injured and unable to move Piper guessed that the back up she was in desperate need of wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

Puffing out its chest and holding its arms aloft the demon exploded into a billion shafts of light that cascaded down everything it touched. At that precise moment Piper made the best decision she had made all night. She had to run.

Piper didn't get very far, two maybe three strides away from the demon when she was hit from behind by a bolt of white hot energy that launched her twenty feet into the air. Piper came crashing down to earth with immense force, she slammed into the floor face first, the momentum of the fall made Piper's body skid nine or ten feet along the ground, scraping the skin from her face and arms. The vanquishing potion that had been Pipers only weapon shattered in her hand as spilling it's contents and sending shards of broken glass deep into Pipers hand and wrist. Blood began to encircle Pipers face and neck where she lay unmoving on the cold hard ground. The light surrounding Pipers body slowly dissipated and the demons screaming finally stopped.

The alleyway was dark.

The demon was gone.

The rock band in the distance played on.

Piper Halliwell didn't move.

As Phoebe pulled the Jeep onto the front curb of the Emergency Room a familiar white light began to swirl into the passenger seat next to her. When Leo finally appeared Phoebe lashed out and punched him hard in the arm.

"Where the hell have you been Leo?" Phoebes face was smeared with tears and she virtually screamed at her brother-in-law through gritted teeth.

"Ouch," Leo complained rubbing his arm. "Phoebe what was that for? You know my ability to sense your call doesn't work when the Litgar demon is around. What's wrong?"

"Paige is badly hurt," Phoebe said as she pointed into the back of the Jeep. Blood from her wound had seeped through the blanket that covered her, Leo didn't hesitate, he leapt into the back seat threw the blanket to one side and held out his hands to heal Paige's leg.

"We were attacked at the Manor," Phoebe continued, "We followed the demon to P3 where he threw some sort of energy ball at us, Paige pulled me out of the way but then couldn't orb away quick enough, Leo she took the full force of the blow. Is she going to be ok?"

"I think so." Leo spoke as the wound on Paige's leg magically began to close and she began to stir. "Where's the demon now?" Leo sounded concerned but didn't take his eyes off Paige.

"He took off." Phoebe answered as she wiped her eyes.

The gash in Paige's leg closed and Leo turned back towards Phoebe.

"So what about Piper? Did she stay at the Manor?"

Phoebe looked guiltily at Leo, she knew that she had done the right thing by staying with Paige; Paige would have died if she'd have left and chased after Piper. Phoebe's heart was in her throat as she stared at Leo and realized that because he was here, Piper was alone with a demon.

"She followed Litgar behind P3." Paige said wearily as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"You're ok, you're ok," Phoebe squeaked as she too clambered into the back seat to be near Paige, "Thank goodness you're ok!" Phoebe threw her arms around her younger sister and started to cover her face in little kisses.

"I'm ok Phoebes; please stop smothering me, Phoebe! Having trouble breathing here." Paige shoved her sister playfully and Phoebe settled for a bear hug.

"Hang on; Piper followed this demon alone?" Leo asked, startling himself, it sounded more dangerous out loud than it did in his head.

"We couldn't stop her Leo," Phoebe said, "Since the Litgar demon almost killed Chris she's been on a mission, she wants that demon dead."

"I can understand that Phoebe, but by herself?" Leo sounded angry.

"Running after demons on her own really isn't like Piper," Phoebe continued, "You know that Leo, but you involve one of the boys and something changes inside of her."

Leo jumped back into the front seat and started the ignition.

"That's what worries me Phoebe, when someone involves the boys, be it human or demon, Piper becomes fearless, she doesn't think straight," Leo put his foot on the gas and swerved the car away from the emergency room. "We have to find her, she might be in trouble."

Phoebe bashed against the window in the back as Leo tried to avoid an incoming ambulance and took the corner too hard.

"Maybe you should drive." Paige quipped quietly to Phoebe.

Phoebe didn't hear her she was too busy watching Leo's angst ridden face in the rear-view mirror. Piper and Leo had been to hell and back with their relationship. Piper had wrestled with her conscience in the beginning as to whether or not she should even be with Leo, the Elders had forbidden their marriage and had even taken Leo away before they were finally allowed to marry. Things were still strenuous in their relationship now; Leo had become an Elder himself and was having to spend more and more time away from his family. Phoebe had never witnessed love like Piper and Leo felt for each other, they were unique, and no matter what anybody, including the Elders said, they were always destined to be together.

Leo, like the Charmed Ones, had a higher calling in life; his Whitelighter duties meant so much to him, helping people was what Leo did best. At this precise moment in time that meant nothing, Phoebe could see that the pain and dread written across Leos face as he frantically searched for his wife was riddled with guilt about the situation, he blamed himself for not being around enough. Phoebe's heart ached for him.

"She'll be alright Leo," Phoebe said softly, "We'll find her and she'll be alright."

Phoebe nudged Paige for support.

"Erm... Yeah," Paige started, trying to think fast, "She's a tough cookie Leo, she'll be fine, and if I know Piper she'll be mightily pissed off and ready to kick our asses for not only taking the car without asking but for getting her upholstery covered in blood." Paige shrugged at Phoebe hoping that she'd helped the situation. Phoebe reached through to the drivers' seat and gently placed her hand on Leo's arm as they pulled up outside P3.

"Which way did she go Phoebe?" Leo said as he jumped from the jeep and slammed the car door behind him.

"Round to the right." Phoebe answered as she joined him at the front of the jeep. Paige tentatively came to Phoebe's side. "You ok Paige?"

"Kind of, feel a bit bruised but I'll be ok, Piper's the one we should be worrying about right now. What's the plan?"

Paige and Phoebe looked at Leo who with an icy scowl was just staring into the darkness.

"Leo?" Phoebe pushed. "Do we have a plan?"

"Yeah. We find my wife." Leo growled as he stalked into the gloom of side street. Phoebe had to jog to keep up.

"The spell we wrote to vanquish the Litgar demon is back at the Manor, do you think…" Phoebe didn't even have time to finish her sentence.

"There isn't time Phoebe!" Leo snapped back.

"Piper's on her own and I can't sense her; we have to find her now!"

"Ok Leo, we will, I promise." Without breaking stride Phoebe took Leos arm and he looked down at her, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so angry. Angry at Piper for going after a demon on her own, angry at himself for not being there to protect his wife from danger and angry that because of a demon he could no longer sense the mother of his children. A flicker of sadness clouded over the anger for a moment as Leo spoke.

"I just don't know what I'd… I need to find her Phoebe."

"And we will…" Phoebe's word trailed off and her mouth dropped open as she stopped dead in her tracks.

About twenty yards ahead of them a body lay slumped on the ground, it was too dark to make out if it was Piper but as Leo turned to look in the direction Phoebe was pointing his heart sank.

"No!" Leo said. "It can't be." Leo's legs wouldn't work, he was willing himself to move, trying to walk, to run towards the figure, but he couldn't.

"Leo! For God sake! Help her!" Paige shouted as she caught up.

Leo's brain kicked into gear and he sprinted towards the body, the closer he got the more the figure became clear.

It was Piper.

Leo threw himself to the ground beside his stricken wife, tears clouding his vision he turned Piper onto her back. Her body was limp, her baby-blue blouse was ripped and soaked in blood and blood streamed from her face and neck.

Piper wasn't breathing.


	3. Chapter 3

Hope people are enjoying 

**Chapter 3-**

"Piper, no!" Leo sobbed. "Piper can you hear me? It's Leo, can you hear me baby?"

Phoebe collapsed to her knees next to Leo.

"Heal her Leo," Phoebe choked through her tears. "You've got to heal her."

Tears cascaded down Leos' face and his hands shook uncontrollably as he held them over his wife's body. White light emanated out through Leos' hands as he moved them over Piper's deepest wounds, every ounce of power, energy and concentration Leo could summon from within was flowing from his soul and into his wife. Nothing happened.

"Come on baby, don't do this to me, you can't leave me Piper, I need you, the boys need you." Leo spluttered, "I need you Piper, we all need you, please Piper!"

Phoebe sobbed as she held her sisters bloody hand willing her to come back, to wake up and shout at them for cutting it too close, almost not making it in time to save her. Then they would all go home, have some of Pipers iced-tea and discuss the next move, check the Book of Shadows and formulate a plan.

Still nothing happened.

The healing white light from Leos' hands stopped and with a cry of agony he looked at Phoebe.

"No Leo! No." Phoebe screamed. "You have to try again; you have to wake her up. Do it!"

Leo fell backwards. "I can't heal her Phoebe; I don't have the power to heal the dead." Leo put his head in his hands and wept.

"She's not dead Leo," Phoebe shrieked as she struggled to take her jacket off, "It's not over yet. Paige get your ass over here and help me!"

Paige hadn't moved since she had first seen Piper, she stood in the alley with her hands clasped tightly.

"Move it Paige!" Phoebe screamed and Paige jolted into action, throwing her jacket to the floor and wiping her face she knelt with Phoebe. Seeing Piper up close was even more distressing, her face was smashed to bits, gravel and blood mangled her hair and parts of her clothing seemed to have melted onto her skin.

"Oh my God," Paige couldn't hide her anguish at seeing her eldest sister. "What do I have to do?"

"We're going to give her mouth to mouth," Phoebe told Paige as she straightened Pipers body as much as she could. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"No, I'm sorry." Paige said.

"That's ok," Phoebe continued, "I'll talk you through it."

Phoebe tilted Pipers head back, dropped her mouth open and checked her airways.

"Ok, that's fine." Phoebe commented. Paige was astounded at how calm Phoebe was. The crying had stopped and the sense of urgency had been replaced by a composed person who had to get an important job done. Paige didn't know how she was handling it, but was just very glad that she was.

"You ready?" Phoebe asked her younger sister.

"I think so." Paige answered

"Good. Piper when we're through the other side of this I owe you a new blouse." With that Phoebe ripped what was left of Piper's shirt open and placed her hands, one over the other, on Pipers breastbone. "I need you to push down here five times for every breath I give her, ok?"

Paige nodded and placed her hands where Phoebe's had been. Phoebe pinched Piper's nose closed, took a deep breath and breathed into Pipers mouth filling her lungs.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." Paige tried to be as gentle as she could every time she pressed down on Piper's heart. Phoebe breathed again.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." Paige repeated.

And again.

And again.

And again.

For twenty minutes Leo helplessly watched as Phoebe and Paige breathed for Piper. For twenty minutes Piper didn't respond. Twenty minutes turned into thirty minutes, thirty into forty minutes, into an hour.

Piper Halliwell was dead.

"Phoebe." Paige said eventually as she closed Pipers shirt. "Phoebe. It's too late." But Phoebe kept filling her sisters' lungs with fresh air. "Please Phoebe, you have to stop, she's gone." Paige sobbed.

Paige looked over at Leo for reassurance, he had known over an hour ago that Piper was gone, if Leos' healing powers hadn't been able to save Piper then mouth to mouth would have had little if no chance. Through his tears Leo got to his feet and walked to Phoebe who was obviously exhausted. Taking her by the shoulders he gently squeezed and moved her away from Pipers body, Phoebe didn't resist, in her heart of hearts she knew that the fight was over. Paige went to Phoebe and took her sister into her arms.

Leo went to Piper. Lifting her body onto his lap and brushing her tangled hair away from her face. Leo hardly recognized his wife; he had seen her no more than three hours ago in the Halliwell attic when she had looked beautiful, dressed immaculately, long dark hair flowing down her back, playing with the boys. Playing with _their_ boys.

"Where did you go?" Leo said through his tears as he leaned down to kiss Pipers forehead. "I should have been here, I'm sorry Piper, I should have been here with you, to protect you. I should have…."

Leo pulled Pipers limp body closer to him and rocked her back and forth.

"How could you do this to us?" He screamed into the dark sky, "She didn't deserve this! She had so much to live for! How can you... How... It wasn't supposed to happen like this, it wasn't her time." Leos' words trailed off as he buried his face into Pipers neck and wept

"You're right Leo." A voice behind them said. "It wasn't her time."

The Angel of Destiny stood five feet away from Leo. Hands clasped behind his back with his white robes bellowing in the breeze.

"It is enduringly an immense shame when one is taken in advance of their time." The Angel said as he slowly walked to where Leo held Piper. "She was an exceptional individual Leo; if nothing else is taken from this experience you should treasure that."

Leos' eyes shifted back to Piper, he didn't want to believe that it was over, Piper was a fighter and Leo would fight on for her.

"Surely you can do something?" Leo begged as his gaze returned to the Angel.

"I am afraid that is impossible," the Angel answered as he placed his hand on Leo's shoulder. "Pipers courage and bravery brought about this predicament, she herself provoked the unavoidable, and because of that I am powerless to intervene. You have my unconditional sympathy Leo." The Angel turned to walk away. Phoebe broke away from Paige's arms and blocked the Angels path.

"Then why the hell did you come here?" Phoebe snarled. "If there's nothing you can do, then why bother showing up at all? To get our hopes up, is that your little game?"

The Angel of Destiny smiled.

"You always were the feistiest Halliwell."

"Don't smirk at me." Phoebe spat "Answer my question."

"There is no game," the Angel continued, "If I am not mistaken your eldest sister has passed on, my appearance here is for nothing more than to pass on my condolences."

Paige had joined Phoebe's barrier.

"That's what funerals are for." Paige snapped.

"I can see my presence is unwelcome." The Angel bowed his head. "Forgive my intrusion."

The Angel stepped around the sisters and began to walk away when Leo spoke.

"Wait." Leo gradually lowered Piper's body to the ground, stood and turned towards the Angel. "You helped us before; there must be something you can do this time? Please."

The Angel came to a standstill but didn't turn.

"What I did before was to make an offer." He Began. "As a goodwill gesture for vanquishing The Source, the Charmed Ones were offered a fresh start, a life without demons." The Angel of Destiny turned and glanced at Phoebe and Paige. "As I recall, the offer was not accepted."

Phoebe took a few steps towards the Angel.

"The offer was turned down because of how much good we would have been unable to do," Phoebe looked back at Paige. "The Power of Three was lucky to be renewed when we discovered about Paige. I think our luck has just run out. If Piper stays dead then the Power of Three is gone forever. All the good we should able to do won't happen." Phoebe walked to Paige and held her hand. "Our Powers are our destiny; you of all people must understand that. That's why we didn't relinquish them back then, and that's why we need your help now."

The Angel of Destiny raised an eyebrow.

"You provide an analytical argument. And you?" The Angel asked Leo. "If Piper could be raised what would your justification for it be?"

"Love." Leo simply replied, his blue eyes twinkling with tears.

"Love?" The Angel questioned. "Love would be your only rationalization in having your wife back?"

Leo stooped back down to Pipers body, talking as much to her as to the Angel.

"Without her I am nothing." Leo stroked Pipers face. "I know how much good she has done for the world, a world that can't even be thankful because they have no concept of what the Charmed Ones go through to make their world safer. But I would give all of that up. All the good, past and present. Everything. Just to have Piper back."

"Excuse my impertinence," The Angel said as he folded his arms. "Is that not a greatly selfish reason?"

"True love is never selfish." Leo retorted. "Phoebe and Paige are right; the Power of Three needs to be restored for the good of mankind." Leo looked at Phoebe who also had tears in her eyes. "But I know that they too would throw it all in to have Piper back." Leo smiled at Phoebe.

Squeezing Paige's hand tighter Phoebe nodded as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"The Power of three means everything to the Halliwell sisters," Leo continued, "And the only thing that means anything more to them is family. The 'Powers That Be' would be doing a great injustice to let, not only Piper stay dead but in severing the Power of Three for a second time the world really is on it's own." Leo bowed his head knowing that there was nothing more any of them could say or do

"I see." The Angel said with a sigh. "Well we can't have that now can we?"


	4. Chapter 4

Let me know what you're thinking guys!?! ;)

**Chapter4-**

Phoebe raced onto the front porch of the Halliwell Manor battling to retrieve her door keys from amongst the clutter in her shoulder bag. Feeling all fingers-and-thumbs but finally rescuing them, Phoebe shakily unlocked the door, swinging it open to allow Leo to carry Pipers body through and into the hallway. Phoebe guessed that the Angel of Destiny had taken a more spiritual route back to the Manor; he hadn't been seen since telling them in the alleyway to take Piper home.

Although quicker, Leo hadn't wanted to Orb back to the Manor, he felt it too dangerous, his powers had been out of sync ever since the Litgar demon had been around. Orbing anyone was always a tricky deal at the best of times and Leo wouldn't risk anything going wrong while transporting a deceased person, especially when that deceased person was his wife. So instead Phoebe had driven them all home in Pipers Jeep, the journey had been generally silent as Leo cradled Piper in the backseat while Paige sat unmoving in the passenger seat. Phoebe had wondered pretty much all the way home whether Paige might be suffering from shock, she had unquestionably been through the mill today, badly injured, almost losing her own fight for life, being magically healed and then being helpless in the battle to save Piper. It was no wonder that she'd said nothing on the ride home. True, Paige had seen her fair share of dead bodies in the past, but there was always a huge difference in seeing a dead person that you have no connection to, this time there was a link and a very powerful link at that.

In the beginning, shortly after Prue had been killed, Paige had been drawn to the remaining Halliwell sisters; it was something that she just couldn't put her finger on, she just knew she should go to them. Within days Paige had learned that she was part of something immensely powerful, part of The Power of Three, one of the three most potent witches the world had ever seen. Not only that but Paige had also discovered that she had two half-sisters, Piper and Phoebe. Paige's relationship with Piper had been extremely hard to begin with; Piper had understandably been torn apart by Prue's death and had no interest in accepting Paige as either a witch or a sister, shunning Paige and all but turning her back completely. Things were much different now though; an unfaltering bond had formed between them.

Piper had taken on the responsibility of 'eldest-sister' after Prue's death with the naturalness that only Piper could, captivating Paige with her boundless knowledge of witchcraft and tutoring Paige on everything she needed to know. In return Paige had subconsciously made Piper realize that life really was for living and that even though she had been forced to become 'head Halliwell witch', there was nothing wrong with having a little fun along the way.

"You okay Paige?" Phoebe asked as Paige climbed the last few steps onto the porch. "Everything will be okay you know."

"How do you know that Phoebe?" Paige answered folding her arms across her chest. "How do you know that everything will work out? It might not this time, this time could be different."

Phoebe looked puzzled at what Paige was saying, she was normally so hopeful. "Of course it will!" Phoebe put her arm around Paige. "Piper's going to be fine; the Angel said he would do what he could, didn't he?"

"Yeah, do what he could, that's what he said, that doesn't mean that he can just click his fingers and bring Piper back to life Phoebe, he can't just make everything alright." Paige had shocked herself with the harshness in her tone. "I just think…" Paige lowered her voice not wanting Leo to overhear. "I just think that maybe things won't come up smelling of roses this time Phoebe. Piper's dead and something small inside of me is saying that no-matter what we do, no-matter what we try, she's going to stay that way."

"You can't think that way Paige." Phoebe's voice trembled. "We have to do everything that we can, we have to fight for her, Piper would do the same for us."

Paige pulled herself away from Phoebe and began to enter the house.

"I'm sorry Phoebes, I just don't know if I have any fight left."

Phoebe was thunderstruck, it was certainly possible that Paige was in shock that much was true but even shock wouldn't usually make her give up on a fight this momentous. As Phoebe entered the Manor and softly closed the door Paige's' words rang fiercely in her mind, could Paige be right? The Angel hadn't given any odds on a flawless outcome, in fact he hadn't said very much at all, just that he would see what he could do, it certainly wasn't a secure gamble. Phoebe's stomach flipped as the doubt started to creep in; she pleaded hoping that Paige was wrong. Phoebe couldn't, correction- Phoebe wouldn't lose another sister.

Doubt in the fight to save Piper soon dissipated when Phoebe entered the sunroom, Piper lay on the lounger with Leo and Paige by her side. Seeing Piper lying there made Phoebe wake up, she felt she'd been dreaming for the last few hours, now everything was clear, everything came back into perspective. Piper had been there through thick and thin for Phoebe, not just since she'd came back to San Francisco from New York but since she was a small child. Being the youngest sister Phoebe had sometimes been the butt of her older sisters' jokes, their teasing, but Phoebe always knew that that sort of thing came with the territory of being the smallest. Piper, being the middle child would often feel torn between ganging-up with Prue and protecting Phoebe. More often than not Piper would stand-up for Phoebe, making her piggy-in-the-middle, it didn't always work out well but Piper felt she was doing the right thing by looking out for her little sister, as a child and even now as an adult. Well it was payback time, it was Phoebes turn to look out for Piper, and she was going to do everything within her power to do the best for everyone, especially Piper.

Wanting to seize both Leo and Paige's attention Phoebe almost shouted all tact and politeness went out of the window in a second.

"I'm sorry; I can't hold it in any longer." Phoebe shouted "What the hell is it with you two?" Paige turned her head and met her sister with a glare that could melt ice; Leo didn't even react he just stayed knelt at Pipers side. "Huh? Come on, enlighten me. You're both acting as if you've given up!"

"You're wrong Phoebe," Paige defended, "We haven't given up, we've just realized that maybe we can't win this one."

"_This one_? What do you mean _this one_? You're talking about your sisters' life here Paige," Phoebe spat, "There's a slight difference here you know, she's not just any old innocent we've had to save in the past, incase it's slipped your mind Paige she's not _this one_, she's one of us for god sake!"

"You think I don't know that Phoebe?" Paige spun around coming face to face with Phoebe. "You think I'm treating this like any other day? Like Piper's just any other innocent?"

"Well from where I'm standing it certainly seems that way…"

"Well you have no clue Phoebe!" Paige's pale complexion flushed crimson with anger. "I don't know, maybe it's just that I have the balls to be honest with myself and admit that this time it might be over."

"Oh! That is such bull and you know it!" Phoebe yelled. "And I'll tell you something else," Phoebe jabbed her finger in Pipers then Paige's direction. "If Piper was here right now she'd be telling you the exact same thing." Phoebe gritted her teeth knowing that what she was about to say was going to hurt. "You know what; you are just being ignorant and weak Paige."

Phoebe was right, the last comment had hurt Paige, it was written across her face and to Phoebes surprise it had hurt just to say. Phoebe wished that she could take it back, in fact she wished she hadn't said it at all, Paige wasn't weak she was far from it, Phoebe was just pissed that Paige was acting this way.

"I'm sorry if my way of dealing with this situation is not to your satisfaction Phoebe," Paige's voice was calm and collected but Phoebe could tell she was mad as hell. "But this is how I do it. Strangely enough I know when I've been beaten by death; I've seen it all too often. First my parents' car crash, then having to watch countless innocents die and being able to do absolutely nothing to help and now this! Now Piper. Having to stand here over my sisters' dead body and being helpless, it's not easy Phoebe; you must know what I mean. You must have felt that the fight was over when Prue died…"

"I never gave up Paige, not like you are." Phoebe screamed through the tears that had begun to form. "When Prue died, okay, I admit I wanted to pack it all in, put the Power of Three as far behind me as I could! I wanted it all to be over, to go back to just being Phoebe Halliwell; failure, screw-up, embarrassment to her family. I wanted to crawl into a corner and die even! But those thoughts lasted about a millisecond. You know what, I got-up, I fought on. Okay, you're right, I admit I thought about it Paige but you know what, unlike you I didn't act on any one part of it, I may have been a thorn in my family's side sometimes but one thing I never was Paige was weak."

"How dare you…"

"Shut-up! Just shut-up." Leo bellowed above the argument. "The both of you are acting like children, trying to better one another. I've had enough of it. I don't know about anything else but I know that Piper would be ashamed if she could hear you both right now. I'm ashamed."

"You know what I'm talking about though…" Phoebe started.

"I couldn't give a damn Phoebe!" Leo stood and faced Phoebe his eyes red with a mixture of suffering and fury. "You both need to pull together now, no matter what the outcome may be, pushing each other away is not helping anyone."

Hanging her head Phoebe knew that Leo was right, all Phoebe wanted to do was to help she didn't want to be part of the problem, which was what she was doing by acting this way.

Leo turned back to Piper with a funny taste in his mouth, he felt as if he wanted to be sick, everything was collapsing in around him and he had no control, the last thing he needed was Phoebe and Paige turning their backs on each other. Leo was just thankful that Piper couldn't hear her treasured family arguing like this.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N- Tell me what you think guys, shall I continue?**_

**Chapter 5**

"When a loved-one passes on initial reactions can be so… What's the word…?"

"Aggressive?"

"Well not the precise word I would have chosen myself Miss Halliwell, but as good as I understand."

"I can't believe they're fighting like this." Piper said. "Leo's right, they should be pulling together."

The Angel of Destiny stood at the base of the Halliwell staircase watching the confrontation between Phoebe and Paige take place, beside the Angel Piper Halliwell's translucent form paced back and forth, fingers pressed into her temples as if trying to massage away a headache.

"It is entirety understandable to feel perplexed about the dilemma you find yourself in Miss Halliwell," The Angel smiled. "It is not everyday you get to be on the other side."

"Perplexed is not the word I would have used but I'm trying to stay as polite as I possibly can considering the circumstances." Piper said with a sarcastic grin, continuing to pace up and down Piper was finding it increasingly hard not to look over at her own dead body lying only twenty feet away. "This is weird beyond belief! I'm nowhere near an expert on this and correct me if I'm wrong but am I a ghost?"

"A spirit Miss Halliwell," The Angel scolded. "Ghost can be such a alarming word. It conjures up thoughts of chains rattling, door handles turning on their own, heavy footsteps, scratching noises and bloodcurdling moans in the darkness. Foreboding I'll think you'll agree."

"Well thanks for that! I won't sleep tonight that's for sure, that's if ghosts actually do sleep. Sorry. Spirits. Jeez, this is going to take a bit of getting used to"

"As I said, not an everyday experience."

Piper stopped in her tracks and glared at the Angel. "You seem to be enjoying this a little too much for my liking. Happen to you a lot does it?"

"Not at all Miss Halliwell, I am just reminded of the first day I myself became corporeal."

Piper slumped down onto the bottom stair with a huff. "Well you've been through this before so what the hell do I do now? I am dead right?"

"You are." The Angel said turning his attention back towards the argument continuing in the sunroom. "Your husband seems rather agitated with your sisters."

"And I'm slightly agitated with you right now. Can we just focus on _my_ problem here please?" Piper groaned, dropping her head onto her knees and throwing her arms up into the air.

"Miss Halliwell," The Angel said sitting himself next to Piper. "That's the thing. Your problem _is_ their problem." Pipers gaze followed the Angels finger as he pointed towards Leo, Paige and Phoebe.

Paige was stood, arms tightly folded frowning at Phoebe who very sheepishly was staring at her shoes, Leo had returned to kneeling at Pipers side. This was really spooky. Piper could definitely hear what was going on, Phoebe, Paige and Leo were arguing about the best way to save her, about what their next move should be. Although Piper could hear the conversation they were having it was as if she was listening to them through an intercom, all fuzzy and distant and to top it all off looking directly at your dead self was a little disconcerting.

"Okay, okay, okay," Piper said as she stood and turned her back on the sunroom not being able to handle the unfolding picture any longer, "I got to figure out how to get out of this and fast. Okay. Okay. I'm dead, that much I do know. The question is, what am I going to do about it? Think Piper think! Well there's nothing else for it! You." Piper pointed her finger in the Angels direction and then over her shoulder. "Put me back in there."

The Angel smiled and shook his head. "Impossible I'm afraid. Well I say impossible, at this very moment in time it is."

"Oh great," Piper sighed sweeping her silky dark hair from her face and jamming her hands on her hips. "This is going to be like one of those really bad 'Movies of the Week' isn't it? I'm going to have to learn my lesson, take my punishment but realize in the gripping finale that it was all worth while and that I'm a much better person for it all!" Piper looked extremely pleased with herself "Am I right? Huh? I'm right aren't I?"

The Angel rolled his eyes. "Miss Halliwell, joking aside for one moment, please; I don't think you understand the seriousness of this predicament." Piper huffed and started pacing again. "I think you've forgotten the most important thing here." Piper stopped in her tracks and held her breath in anticipation of what the Angel was going to say. "It seems to have slipped your mind. You are dead."

Piper clenched her fists, she had expected something a little more informative especially from the Angel of Destiny, but there was nothing like stating the obvious.

"Well if I'm dead then why the hell am I here talking to you? Shouldn't I be off bouncing on clouds or picking out my harp or getting a nice pair of fluffy wings fitted?"

"Well you're right about being somewhere else, I don't know about the latter, although I do think that wings would suit you Miss Halliwell." The Angel started to walk towards the sunroom; not daring to follow just yet Piper stayed rooted to the spot.

"Hey," Piper whispered. "Mr.…Angel…Person. Oh, why didn't I get his first name? Where are you going? What are you going to do?"

"They cannot see or hear us Miss Halliwell." The Angel stopped between Phoebe and Paige. "We are invisible to them. All they can do now is to wait for me to return with instructions."

"Instructions?" Piper kept her voice low, just in case. "Why do people like you always speak in code? What the hell do you mean, waiting for instructions?"

The Angel walked to stand behind Leo. "Instructions on what they should do next, and I would appreciate a lesser use of the word 'hell' Miss Halliwell."

"Sorry." Piper said sarcastically.

"Now, if I may." The Angel continued "Your husband along with your sisters have asked me to bring you back."

"Bring me back?" Piper came to join the Angel who was watching Leo. "So you can do that? You can bring me back to life? I mean, I knew you guys were good, but I didn't realize you were that good."

"I can bring you back Miss Halliwell. At a price." The Angel answered his eyes never leaving Pipers dead body. "There are certain stipulations and conditions though."

"Isn't there always?" Piper mocked "Okay, so what? We scratch your back you scratch ours, that sort of thing? At a guess I'd say that you want us to be righteous and up standing members of society for the rest of our lives? If that is the case my sisters and I were planning to do so anyway Mr. Angel."

"I had no doubt in that." The Angel turned to Piper. "No Miss Halliwell, the condition for having your life back is harshly greater than just being 'a good person' I'm afraid."

"Harshly? Why would you use a word like that? How harsh are we talking?" Piper sounded worried. "I mean, it can't be that bad can it?"

"Miss Halliwell, I should keep your loved ones waiting no longer so I shall come to the point." The Angel began to walk back towards the staircase as Piper walked to Leo. "I, as any other Angel have rules to follow, there are regulations that we must adhere to. True as it may be that we have great powers and can invalidate situations such as these, but we still have to keep a balance."

Piper cautiously knelt down next to Leo, what the Angel had said was right, Leo had no idea that she was there, even with his powers to sense people, he had no clue. If Leo couldn't sense her being that close then Piper realized how dead she really was. Leos face was etched with anguish, Piper wanted to touch him, she wanted to comfort him and make him feel better, let him know she was there and that she would do everything in her power to be by his side again. How it was possible was beyond Piper but she could feel tears welling into her eyes.

"I'll do anything." Piper said as she reached her hand out towards Leo. "I can't leave them, I want to go back and I want to be with my family, whatever it takes."

"Very well." The Angel cleared his throat, Piper knew that he was going to say something important this time around; she wiped her eyes and stood to face the Angel catching a glimpse of Phoebe and Paige as she turned. "Your sisters were entirely prepared to relinquish their powers if they could have you returned to them Miss Halliwell, a noble gesture you'll agree."

"I won't let them do that." Piper objected as the Angel of Destiny held up his hand to silence her.

"However, this has been deemed unnecessary by the powers that be. They will not be penalized for your error. Their powers will stay intact." The Angel paused and looked directly into Pipers eyes. "Your powers however Miss Halliwell will not."

Pipers' expression didn't change; she stood tall excepting her punishment the way a grown adult should.

"Your death was caused by your own ignorance Miss Halliwell, placing yourself in a danger you were incapable of dealing with alone, in turn your presumptuous temperament endangered the lives of your loved ones, and this is why you must relinquish your powers in order to return to your family."

"Excuse my audacity," Piper interrupted. "But taking my powers would result in stripping my sisters of their powers ultimately. As you've said yourself my sisters shouldn't be punished for my mistake, remove my powers and The Power of Three would no longer exist."

"We realized this ourselves, a flaw in the game plan, or so it seemed. The Power of Three will have a slight modification Miss Halliwell. The Power of Three will become the Power of Two. Phoebe and Paige will stay as witches while you, yourself will be devoid of any powers. We will alter time itself."

"Hang on one minute." Piper was finding it hard to take the information in. "You mean I will never have existed? Is that what you're saying?"

"No Miss Halliwell I am not saying that at all, you will have existed as Piper Halliwell; wife, mother, sister, the only difference will be the lack of witchcraft in your life."

"I would have never been a witch?" Piper said almost to herself, realizing exactly what the Angel of Destiny had said.

"As far as those around you are concerned, your sisters, Leo and so on, to them you will have never been a witch, you will have been just Piper." Piper stared at her sisters as the Angel continued. "You will recall everything Miss Halliwell, the good you have done, the fights you have fought, the demons you have vanquished, but only you will remember. Phoebe and Paige will only recollect ever being the Power of Two, the world's most potent witches. You will have to live the remainder of your life knowing the truth, knowing what you once were, knowing the remarkable things you once did."

Piper looked from Paige to Phoebe and back again. "They won't even know?"

"I'm afraid not." The Angel answered. "Can you bring yourself to live like that Miss Halliwell?"

"Everything else will be the same?" Piper asked. "Prue? Marrying Leo? Having Wyatt and Chris?"

The Angel nodded sympathetically. "There would be a superficial difference with Wyatt and Chris, they will have been born half Whitelighter half human, they will no longer be half witches. Their mother, after all will have always been mortal." The Angel said as he stepped to one side revealing Wyatt standing on the staircase.

"Wyatt." Piper exclaimed as she bent towards him.

"He cannot see you Miss Halliwell, he only sees what Leo and your sisters see."

"My god." Piper swung around and looked towards her own dead body, nobody had noticed that on hearing the argument Wyatt had climbed from his bed and come downstairs. Pipers' heart hurt knowing that Wyatt wouldn't understand what was going on. "This isn't fair." Piper said as she turned back to the Angel. "Wyatt shouldn't have to see this; can't you make somebody see him?"

"Miss Halliwell…" The Angel started.

"Please," Piper begged. "This is entirely my fault; I know that and am prepared to deal with the consequences. My sisters shouldn't have to pay for my death and Wyatt shouldn't have to see his mother like this, like that." Piper said pointing towards her dead self. "Don't allow him to go through this, just make them see him please."

The Angel of Destiny clicked his fingers and almost immediately Phoebe turned to see Wyatt, Piper could tell that Phoebe was confused, not knowing what had made her turn around. Piper didn't care, she was just glad Phoebe had.

"Wyatt." Phoebe said as she hurriedly bundled Wyatt into her arms. "What are you doing down here baby? Let's get you back upstairs, hey?"

"Mommy." Wyatt said as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"I know baby," Phoebe spoke softly. "Mommy's just not feeling too well, but me, Daddy and Auntie Paige are going to make her all better. Okay?"

Hearing Wyatt call for her all but crushed Pipers heart.

"I'm here baby, Mommy won't be long." As Phoebe and Wyatt passed Piper she faced the Angel, tears flowing freely down her face. "Do it." Piper said. "Send me back to my family; I couldn't care less about the damn consequences. Whatever price I have to pay I want to be with my sisters, I want to kiss my husband and I want to hold my boys, screw being a witch."

"You are sure Piper?" The Angel knew the answer Piper was going to give, he just had to ask.

"I have never been more sure of anything before in my life." Piper said her voice steady and strong.

Piper took one last look around at Leo and Paige; she could hear Wyatt giggling at Phoebe upstairs. Taking a deep breath Piper finally spoke again.

"Do it."

**A/N- Please review people:)**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, I'll keep it up if you do:0)**_

_**Chapter 6**_

Leo gently placed Pipers body on the makeshift altar in the Manor attic. Candles flickered delicately all around the room, bathing Pipers still form in a golden shade. Phoebe and Paige had replaced Piper's tattered shirt with a clean yellow one and had managed to clean most of the blood from her face. Leo stood over his wife and observed her, although her face was still bloody and bruised in places she looked so peaceful, like she was sleeping, at the bottom of Leo's heart he still believed she was.

"Almost time to wake up sweetie," Leo cooed and stroked Pipers face tenderly, "The boys are missing their mommy."

"They're not the only ones." Phoebe spoke as she and Paige came into the attic carrying yet more candles, herbs and potions. "We got everything?"

"I think so." Paige said discarding her armful of miniature potion phials into an empty armchair. "We've pretty much exhausted the supplies from the kitchen; we've even raided Pipers secret basement stash. I had no idea that Piper had started to duplicate every potion we've ever used, she's got herself an excellent little stock-pile down there."

Leo turned to Paige. "She's been doing it for years, she always said having to use a spell from the Book of Shadows twice wasn't unusual so what's to say you wouldn't need the same potion twice?" A smile played across Leo's face as he turned back to Piper. "She likes to be prepared."

"Yep, a regular little squirrel was our Piper." Phoebe stopped lighting the remainder of the candles placed around the altar and looked up at Leo. "I mean she _is_ a regular little squirrel, sorry Leo I don't know why on earth I said _was_."

Leo smiled again. Phoebe hadn't meant to use the past tense; it had just slipped out, that was something that they'd all been guilty of over the last few hours, after all Piper was technically dead and talking like she was just seemed easier. But as far as they all were concerned Piper wouldn't stay dead for very much longer.

"Okay," Paige broke the silence at last. "We seem to be as ready as we can be."

Paige surveyed the attic, each and every available surface was strewn with every concoction, compound and potion the Charmed Ones had ever used. Leo was right, Piper did like to be equipped, there must have been over a hundred miniature bottles dotted about, all filled with colorful mixtures, Piper's 'just-in-case' hoard. Scattered amongst the bottles were items belonging to Piper herself, the cherished necklace Prue had given to Piper just before she'd been killed by Shax, photo's of Piper with Leo and the boys, trinkets and charms that Piper always kept close. Most importantly was Piper's wedding ring. The only piece of information that the Angel had given was to remove both Piper and Leo's wedding rings. They were the most symbolic token of the everlasting love they had for one another and so could be used to regenerate Pipers soul back into her physical form. Piper would remove her wedding ring for no reason whether is was showering, washing the dishes or demon annihilation, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week the ring stayed immovably on her finger. Needless to say it had taken Phoebe a while to pry it from her sister's hand so it could be placed with Leos onto the open pages of the Book of Shadows. That was what the Angel of Destiny had instructed and so that's where the rings sat glinting in the candlelight.

"I think we're ready." Leo said turning to Phoebe and Paige, "All we need is…" Leo was interrupted by a brilliant light as the Angel of Destiny appeared.

"Me?" The Angel said as the draught he'd brought into the room died down. "I see you've done as advised." He said eyeing the wedding rings.

"Yep," Paige rushed forward, "we've also collected some potions and personal belongings of Piper's, we thought that may be of help."

"We are not vanquishing an entity my dear." The Angel patted Paige's arm as if she were five years old. "And as for personal belongings, why don't you save them for the next Halliwell garage sale." Phoebe couldn't help but giggle as Paige's face turned from an ear to ear grin into childlike frustration.

"We just thought…" Leo was cut-off.

"I asked for your wedding rings, that is all I need, well the rings and Pipers body." Leaving Paige the Angel walked towards the Book of Shadows and scooped up the rings. "Now, I need each of you to place your hands on Piper, this will aid me with the power I need to revive her. After all what could be more powerful than the love of her sisters and husband."

"Do we need to do anything else?" Phoebe asked as she joined Leo. "A spell or incantation?"

"No Miss Halliwell, leave the rest to me." As the Angel spoke Phoebe noticed a shred of bright red ribbon appear as if from no-where into the Angels hand. "Your presence here is enough." The Angel cleared his throat. "If we're all ready?"

Phoebe caught Leo's hand before he moved into position; she could feel his tension in the air. They were all nervous and apprehensive about what was about to occur so Phoebe held onto Leo's hand for a moment longer, not only to show her support but to also reinforce faith in herself. He smiled weakly and moved in silence to stand above Pipers head. Paige came and stood opposite Phoebe; they both placed one hand on Pipers shoulders and with the other held Pipers cold hands. The Angel of Destiny stood at Pipers feet; he had looped the red ribbon through the wedding rings and was holding them high.

An eerie calm had descended over the Halliwell Manor, it was getting light outside now but the usual birdsong that would fill the early morning air around the Manor was non-existent, it was like the birds had all stopped what they'd been doing and where watching quietly from a distance. Phoebe thought that it was as if the anxiety in the air had seeped outside, it was as if the whole world could feel that something big was about to happen.

Then the Angel began, his focus never leaving the wedding rings suspended from the ribbon, his voice bellowed through the attic almost making the walls shudder.

"A request from a sister,

A request from a love,

Our request we beseech thee,

The strength from above."

The rings in the air started to gleam, a white light encircling them as if the rings were blistering hot. Phoebe could imagine the red ribbon catching fire any second, but it didn't, the ribbon held out gripping the rings as safely as before. The apprehension in the room elevated to a level that the Halliwell sisters had never before reached, both Paige and Phoebe wanted this more than anything else in the world but trying to concentrate on the job in hand was tough, especially when your sisters' life depended on it. Paige could see that Phoebe was as worried as she was and just prayed that Leo would be holding out better.

Phoebe snapped her eyes shut, she was scared now, the energy thrashing around the attic was hard to ignore, they were attempting something perilous in trying to bring Piper back from the dead, Phoebe wondered if they could handle it. A thousand thoughts flashed through Phoebes mind. Had they actually thought this through? How on earth was this going to work? Had they asked enough questions? Had they prepared enough? Would Piper be the same as always? Would _they_ be the same as always? Would they all remember? Phoebe scolded herself for not being more astute; wanting your big sister back from the dead was one thing but not getting it right because of not thinking the strategy through appropriately or not asking enough questions was another. Phoebe would never forgive herself if it all went wrong now, mores the point Piper would never forgive her and that's what was chilling Phoebe to the bone. Too late Phoebe thought, there was no way back now. The Angel of Destiny continued.

"The power that we have here,

The power that you give,

That power is all ours now,

We make this witch live!"

As the Angel spoke the last words he tossed the ribbon and red hot rings into the air, they seemed to hang in the air for a long time as a wind that had come from no-where whipped around Piper on the altar and extinguished every candle in the room. After what felt like an eternity the rings exploded into a million pieces that cooled instantly and drifted gently down sprinkling Pipers body like glitter. At that moment the Angel was gone.

The Attic went dark.

The birds outside began to sing.

Piper Halliwell tentatively opened her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

"Piper!" A voice in Pipers head rang. "Oh my god Piper are you okay?"

Piper tentatively opened her eyes, there was a sharp pain in the back of her head and from the fuzzy view of the ceiling it appeared that she was lying on her back.

"What the hell happened?" Piper said groggily, lifting her hand to her scalp to check for damage.

"You fainted sweetie." That voice seemed more familiar to Piper than the first. "You went down like a sack of potatoes. Don't move honey, just stay where you are."

Piper tried to focus her eyes, her head was banging at a hundred miles an hour, the thump in her head was reverberating in her ears. Piper was definitely on her back and more to the point from what she could make out through her fuzzy vision she seemed to be on her back in the Manor kitchen. As her eyes finally began to focus properly Piper could see three sets of worried eyes gazing down in her direction.

"You okay sweetie? What happened there?" Phoebe knelt down beside her older sister. "Sounded like you hit your head pretty hard."

"Don't I know it!" Piper grumbled rubbing her head and attempting to sit up straight. "That's one hell of a bump already, going to hurt more in the morning I reckon."

"At least there's no blood," Paige's voice came from somewhere behind Piper. "What happened?"

"You tell me." Piper said as she managed to push herself up and leaned back onto the cupboard door under the sink. Her head was still fuzzy but aside from the pain and blurred vision something else was bugging her, there was something that she should be remembering, something important. What the hell was it?

"You still with us?" Now there was a voice that Piper was relieved to hear. Leo bent down into his wife's sight line, his brow was creased with worry. "Don't scare me like that."

"I didn't mean to." Piper smiled at her husband. "Anyone want to give me a clue to what did actually happen. My mind's a bit hazy still."

Phoebe handed Piper a glass of water. "You just went down. You were stood there washing the dinner dishes and without warning you hit the deck."

"Not like me to make a scene." Piper quipped putting the glass to her mouth and taking a long drink of water. Her mouth-felt drier than it had ever been and on the cool rim of the glass Piper could feel that her lips where cracked, cracked as if she'd been sitting out in the sun for hours on end without her moisturizer on. To Piper it felt like no moisture had past her lips for hours, maybe longer, that was weird, how had she become so dehydrated when she'd only been out for a few seconds surely?

"I don't know what happened." Piper said as she drained her glass. "To be honest I don't even remember being in the kitchen."

"Let's get you to the couch honey, sitting on that cold floor won't be doing you any good." Leo put his arms out and helped Phoebe get Piper to her feet. Piper may have been freaking out inside, but there was nothing in this world that would calm her down quicker than feeling Leo's strong arms around her.

"Take it easy though we don't want a repeat performance." Paige called after them as they made their way into the living room.

When Piper reached the couch her head was still spinning, it was _that_ feeling that she just couldn't put her finger on, the feeling that something just wasn't quite normal about this situation. Piper was definitely in comfortable surroundings, she was safely in her own house, the house she'd lived in all her life, her family were all around her, but something very small in the pit of her stomach was making Piper scared.

Piper couldn't remember being in the kitchen for a start, she couldn't remember feeling dizzy, she couldn't remember washing the dinner dishes, Piper couldn't even remember eating the dinner that she'd obviously cooked. What she could remember was hazy and vague; she was outside P3 with Phoebe and Paige, her sisters were telling her not to go, were they chasing someone? Or _something_? Piper couldn't understand why she was having difficulty remembering something so simple; her memory had never let her down in the past.

Making sure his wife was settled on the couch, Leo headed to the kitchen to refill Pipers glass and grab his wife a couple of aspirin. Phoebe crouched down at Pipers feet watching as a perplexed expression clouded across her older sisters' face. Piper was looking around the room as if she was searching for the answer to a question that she didn't even know.

"Maybe we should get you checked over at the emergency room. Huh?" Phoebe said as she brushed a strand of hair away from Pipers eyes. " You still look a little glazed Piper, maybe you hit your head harder than you think."

"I'm okay. I think" Piper said focusing her attention back onto her younger sister. "I just… I just wish I could remember, that's all."

Phoebe smiled. "Well don't panic, I can tell you what's worth remembering honey. You cooked a lovely dinner, had a glass of wine, put the boys down for the night and came back downstairs to do the dishes." Phoebe paused. "Nothing different there Piper, you did just what you do every night."

"Did I?" Piper crunched her face up as if that was going to help her recall the evenings' events. "Were we at P3 tonight?"

"You were there this morning." Phoebe was finding Pipers behavior more and more weird, that must have been one hell of a head bashing, and maybe the emergency room wasn't such a bad idea after all. "You had to check up on the building work, you're having the stage replaced, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that does ring a bell." Piper sighed and put her fingers through her hair. "Phoebe I really do feel strange, you know, like there's something wrong with me, I don't feel myself at all."

"Piper." Phoebes' tone had a serious edge that caught Pipers attention straight away. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"What do you mean?" Piper answered.

"Well," Phoebe started, dropping her gaze and placing her hands on Piper's knees. "Let me rephrase the question. Is there anything that you _want_ to tell me?"

"Something I want to tell you?" Piper hadn't a clue what was going on right at that moment let alone what Phoebe was talking about.

"Yeah, you know. Something to explain why you're feeling like this." Phoebe pressed.

"I don't understand what you're on about Phoebes. How bout we skip the niceties and you just get to the point."

Phoebe lowered her tone making sure she couldn't be overheard. "Well this fainting thing for a start, that's not like you Piper." Phoebe quickly glanced over her shoulder towards the kitchen then, still worried that she could be overheard, turned back and moved closer towards Piper. "Then there's what you said yesterday, you know, that you had felt unwell for the last couple of days and had been a bit wobbly on your feet recently, Piper in my book that's not like you either." Phoebe was whispering now. "I just wondered if there was something that you wanted to tell me, that's all."

Phoebe grinned innocently and shrugged her shoulders, Piper closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto the couch, immediately she wished she'd maneuvered slightly slower as when her head met the couch a thumping pain shot through her bump and into her head.

"Phoebe I really hope that this leading somewhere. And quickly. It's just my head hurts too much for games." Piper sighed.

"Well, it's just that I remember you being like this before you found out that you were expecting Chris." Phoebe perched herself up onto her knees and without meaning to her voice became all squeaky and excited. "You got dizzy in the bathroom that time and Paige had to orb the two of us inside because you were too wobbly to stand up, you found out you were pregnant with Chris a week later." Phoebe's excitement dwindled and she suddenly went all-sheepish. "I just thought that you and Leo might be adding to our little Halliwell clan but that you just hadn't got around to telling us yet."

"Phoebe!" Piper sounded exasperated. "I'm being deadly serious here."

"So am I…" Phoebe defended.

"Then what on earth makes you think that this has a medical explanation? Surely my memory loss has something more to do with demons or warlocks or some sort of curse." Piper huffed at her sister then calmed her voice and continued. "Look. I'm trying to tell you that something's not right here, after everything that the three of us have been through as the Charmed Ones we should know the signs by now. Maybe it's a curse or a forgetful spell, I don't know. Phoebe, lets just say that this time when I connect the dots morning sickness doesn't come to the forefront of my mind as an explanation. You get me?"

The sisters' reactions could not have been any more different. Piper crossed her arms across her chest in defiance and fixed Phoebe with the 'I-think the-problem-is-something-witchy' glare. While Phoebe just stared at Piper, dumfounded at what she'd just heard. It was Phoebe who finally broke the silence.

"Piper what makes you think that you're under a curse? You know that that's not even possible anymore."

"Anymore? What's that supposed to mean, anymore?"

Piper really didn't like this feeling, what had started as a little tiny feeling in the pit of her stomach had begun to develop into a swirling mass of nerves that rebounded around inside her, in fact it wasn't just Pipers stomach that felt icky her whole body felt funny.

"Sweetie." Phoebe said climbing up onto the couch next to Piper. "You're impervious to harm from evil, you know that." Phoebe could see that Piper was even more baffled now. "Oh baby, you really did hit your head." Phoebe said in her sweetest tone. "Since you gave birth to Wyatt and Chris the underworld has granted the three of you immunity from danger. Nothing can touch any of you. You could say that you're in a sort of protective bubble."

"I don't understand…" Pipers' voice trembled and the swirling mass grew.

"You know that Paige and I made a deal with a very powerful demon when you gave birth to Wyatt, we knew that Power of Two could protect you alone but with a baby around the house we all agreed that more protection was needed. The deal was we wouldn't go after him as long as you, Wyatt and then Chris when he was born could be protected from evil for the rest of your lives. That's why there's no curse Piper. There couldn't be." Phoebe put her arm around her older sister. "You have the two strongest witches as sisters, there's no way we'd let you or the boys come to any harm."

Piper pulled herself away from Phoebe, she knew that Phoebe and Paige would lay down their lives for the boys but Phoebe seemed to be forgetting that Piper herself had strong powers.

"I know that neither of you would Phoebe, but my powers could have taken care of any danger we might have had to face. And don't forget Phoebe, Wyatt has a protective shield himself."

"Shield? What shield?" Phoebe pushed. "Wyatt doesn't have a shield. Not one of his own anyway."

"Of course he does!" Piper laughed, why was Phoebe playing games? "He was born half Whitelighter half witch, he's been causing all sorts of havoc lately you know that, now that he's figured out that he can orb himself around the Manor at the drop of a hat."

"Piper." Phoebe pulled her sister to face her, her tone sharp and determined. "Listen to me. Wyatt was born half Whitelighter and half _mortal_. There isn't any witch in him, he can orb like Leo because he's half Whitelighter but he certainly doesn't have a protective shield. If he'd have been Paige's son, or mine even then of course he would have had some sort of powers, but it's impossible to inherit any powers from you. How could he Piper? You're not a witch."

Piper shot from the couch like a bolt of lightening her heart racing, all of a sudden Pipers memory fired back into place. Everything became clear again. She could see herself facing a demon, turning and trying to run, being hit by a shaft of energy, standing over her own dead body. Piper remembered wanting to be back with her sisters, with Leo and the boys. She would do anything to have it all back, she would make the greatest sacrifice if she had to, Piper could remember everything now. Piper _had_ made the ultimate sacrifice. Piper was given her life back that much was true, but there had been a price. She was no longer a witch.

"You okay Piper?" Phoebe stammered, shocked at her sisters' reaction.

"I remember. I remember what happened." Piper spun around and stared hard at her reflection in the mirror over the fireplace.

"Well, that's good isn't it? I knew it wouldn't take long to come flooding back to you. You remember everything?" Phoebe joined Piper at the mirror.

"Everything." Piper said never taking her eyes away from her image in the glass. "And no matter what you've been through or what you've heard in the past, what I'm about to say to you is going to come as a real shock Phoebe." Piper turned to Phoebe. "You may not remember and you're probably going to think that I've gone completely nuts, but I was a witch Phoebe, you Paige and I made up the Power of _Three_, not Two. And I didn't faint in the kitchen, in fact what happened was just about the complete opposite."

"I don't get it." Phoebe said. "Of course you fainted, I was there Piper."

"You're wrong." Piper said turning back to her reflection. "I didn't faint. It may sound really bizarre Phoebe but I know I didn't faint...

I came back from the dead..."

**_A/N- Really enjoying writing this, hope you guys are enjoying reading it. Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews, honestly keep me writing, but there's room for more... ;)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

"Maybe you should just take a deep breath and sit down Piper." Phoebe spoke in her most calming tone, not wanting to intensify her sisters' already aggravated condition.

"I don't want to sit down Phoebe." Piper snapped as she paced back and forth through the Manor sitting room, hands jammed firmly on hips and frustration unmistakably written across her face, "And I don't want to take a deep breath, what I do want is for you to just listen to me, that is what I want."

"Ok, ok. I am listening sweetie." Phoebe dropped her voice. "You're just not making much sense right now is all. And you're wearing the pattern off the carpet prowling up and down like that!"

Piper stopped and glared at her younger sister. "Of all people Phoebe I thought that I would be able to rely on you for a bit of support, just a little. But no. Instead you choose to kick me while I'm down."

"What? I'm not kicking you when you're down Piper! You're confusing the hell out of me is all. I can't help you if I don't understand you honey." Phoebe watched Piper continue to pace, shaking her head in dissatisfaction as she went.

"I'll put in plain and simple words Phoebe; I came back from the dead."

Phoebe put her head in her hands and almost giggled, "You keep saying that but what you don't seem to realise how unbelievably nuts it sounds!"

"Forget it," Piper shouted and stood stock-still, "I guess I'll have to get the support I need from a different source."

"Oh Piper. No…No…No…" Phoebe begged her older sister. It was no use, Piper screamed out at the top of her voice.

"Leo!"

Piper began pacing again as Paige and Leo came in from the kitchen with confused looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked noticing his wife striding purposely up and down behind the sofa. "Everything ok honey? How you feeling now?"

"Oh, I'm just peachy!" Piper sarcastically threw back at her husband. Phoebe stood and tiptoed towards Leo and Paige murmuring as she went so not to exasperate her older sister any further.

"I'm not being funny you guys but I do think that this time Piper has finally lost it completely."

"I heard that!" Piper barked without breaking her stride.

"Fun though this verbal ping-pong is, does someone want to actually let us in on the secret?" Paige asked.

"Sure." Piper said as she turned to face Paige. "Phoebe thinks that I'm mad."

"I don't think you're mad Piper," Piper folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows questionably at Phoebe. "I just think you're slightly confused at the minute that's all, understandable too with the knock on the head you just took."

"Well, I'm still none the wiser, how bout you Leo?" Leo's eyes didn't leave Piper. "I have an idea." Paige continued. "How about someone starts at the beginning and give Leo and me the chance to get onto the same page."

All eyes fixed on Piper who was avoiding looking directly at her family. Piper was beginning to feel like a bit of a fool and had no intention in breaking the silence first. Eventually Phoebe spoke.

"Piper thinks she's not Piper."

"Oh for God sakes Phoebe, we've been over and over this a hundred times. I am Piper, I'm just not the whole package."

Phoebe turned to Leo and mouthed with over exaggeration. "See what I mean? Slightly confused."

"Phoebe!" Piper shouted. "You're not helping any!" Piper had stopped her frantic pacing and was leaning on the back of an armchair gazing towards Leo with an imploring look.

"Honey, why don't you sit down and tell me what's going on." Leo used his most soothing tone that was always guaranteed to soften even Pipers' harshest mood.

"Okay," Piper held up her hands. "I'll explain once more so long as you don't react like Phoebe and think automatically that I'm a deranged psychopath."

"I promise." Leo walked towards the sofa and sat down, patting the seat next to him indicating for his wife to join him.

"I'm guessing that this has something to do with what happened earlier in the kitchen?" Paige spoke as Piper settled next to Leo nervously ringing her hands. Phoebe had perched herself on the arm of the sofa and was nodding enthusiastically at Paige.

"Piper says that she didn't faint in the kitchen earlier." Phoebe began rubbing Piper's shoulders, much to the annoyance of her older sister.

"She didn't faint?" Paige questioned. "Well you could have fooled me."

"That's what it looked like to the casual observer obviously, but it's not what actually happened." Phoebe covered Pipers ears as if she were a child who shouldn't be listening to an adult conversation. "Piper came back from the dead."

"You're about two seconds away from getting blown into a million pieces Phoebe, seriously!" Piper yanked her head from Phoebe's grasp and raised her hands ready to blow her sister apart.

"I'm just saying…. Blown into what? Oooh…." Phoebe shook her head with over exaggeration "Oh please don't blow me up with you're non-existent powers!"

Piper put her hands down again realising that Phoebe was right, she didn't actually have any powers.

"You are so lucky I don't have my powers right now Phoebe." Piper warned.

"Okay, why don't we all just take a breath and calm down for a second?" Leo stepped in trying to defuse the situation as he often had to as the girls Whitelighter. "I think we should let Piper explain what happened and we should all listen "until" she's finished without anymore interruptions. Agreed?" Leo eyed Phoebe and Paige waiting for the response he was looking for. Phoebe and Paige eventually nodded. "Good." Leo continued turning his attention back to Piper. "Why don't you start from the beginning Piper."

Piper looked from Leo to Phoebe who had a "You know how crazy you're going to sound?" look on her face. Piper knew she was going to get no support from Phoebe on this one. Luckily Paige's expression was more sympathetic, her head slightly tilted to one side. Piper could see that Paige was going to listen supportively even if Phoebe wasn't.

"Phoebe's not completely wrong." Piper started. "I guess that I am going to sound thoroughly nuts, she's right about that much. But I have never been this serious about anything in my life before, so before the whole diagnosis of absolute lunacy is agreed, just hear me out." A silence fell over the room allowing Piper to continue. "I did something really stupid. I mean really stupid. I chased a demon that I had absolutely no chance of vanquishing on my own. And before you ask I don't know why I did it." Piper looked between her sisters. "You both told me not to, but before I realised how brainless I was being it was too late." Leo squeezed Pipers hand. "I was cornered behind P3 and the inevitable happened. The demon killed me."

"Been there before," Paige said, "I've lost count of the amount of times you've died Piper."

Piper couldn't help but laugh at her younger sisters comment, it was true Piper had been killed more times than she herself would care to remember, trust Paige to say it out loud to try to lighten the mood.

"True, but it was different this time Paige." Piper sighed. "Due to unforeseen circumstances the situation seemed to quickly go from bad to worse."

"Bad to worse?" Paige asked. "Kind of having trouble seeing what could be worse than dying here Piper."

"Well you were badly hurt for a start Paige."

"Really? Oh. I see." Paige seemed surprised.

"The demon attacked you first, I ran off after it while Phoebe stayed and tried to help you."

"What about me?" Leo asked, concern spreading across his face. "Why didn't anyone call me?"

"For some unknown reason the demon that we were fighting had the ability to block our calls to you. We were like sitting ducks. Although…" Piper re-called. "You must have healed Paige, she was fine when you bought my body back to the Manor."

"This is getting weirder." Phoebe huffed. "Okay, so what you're saying is you died fighting a demon and you came back to life in the kitchen less than an hour ago, right?"

"Exactly." Piper quietly answered. "So I guess you all think I'm crazy?"

"Oh not yet honey." Phoebe turned to Paige who looked totally confused. "That's not even the best of it Paige! Tell them what you told me about the Power of Three Piper."

"W...What?" Paige stammered.

"Power of Three?" Leo echoed. "What do you mean, The Power of Three?"

"Before I died." Piper continued. "Before all this happened Phoebe, Paige and I were the Power of Three."

The room fell silent as Phoebe looked from Paige to Leo and back again waiting for agreement about how crazy Piper actually sounded.

"You have to believe me." Piper finally broke the silence. "Leo, no matter what it sounds like I am telling you the truth."

Leo looked deep into his wife's hazel eyes and smiled. He knew more than anyone that Piper could be stubborn and headstrong and even obstinate at times but one thing was for sure, Piper was no liar.

"So…" Paige broke the second silence that had enveloped the room. "When push comes to shove what you're actually saying is that you were a witch? Along with Phoebe and I?" Piper couldn't bring herself to answer Paige, she just nodded. "Well they do say that three heads are better than two. I think." Paige shrugged.

"You can't be serious?" Phoebe finally barked, she could hold her tongue no longer. "You're not telling me that you're actually falling for this Paige? It has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! When she fainted in the kitchen she hit her head- that's all! She hit her head and is now having some sort of mental break-down!"

"Come on Phoebe." Paige reasoned. "I'm not saying that everything I've heard sounds all together true, but after everything that's happened to us, I don't believe that you can dismiss what Piper's saying as far fetched?"

"What I'm saying Paige is that Piper has spent her entire life being jealous of our powers…"

"That's ridiculous Phoebe!" Piper started before Phoebe cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"It started first with Prue and me and now with you Paige. She's always hated being left out. Not being a witch and not having a power drives her insane – so insane in fact," Phoebe turned to Piper, "She's making up stories now."

"You know what." Piper held up her hands. "I am not going to get into a fight with you Phoebe, I don't have the energy, the time or the patience right now but I'll tell you what. If you want to talk jealously then you should take a long hard look at yourself. Not having an exciting active power like Paige's or mine drove you up the wall."

"You don't have any powers to be jealous of Piper, how could I be jealous of something that you never had!"

Leo stood and tried to referee the unfolding argument. "Okay guys we're getting nowhere fast like this."

"Back off Leo!" Both Piper and Phoebe shouted without taking their eyes off each other. Leo shrugged his shoulders at Paige and sat back down in defeat.

"Why don't you believe me?" Piper asked, beginning to feel herself crumble emotionally.

"Because it makes no sense Piper." Phoebe spat back. "That's why. Not one sentence has made any sense at all. When Gram's died and Prue and I received our powers I remember how shocked we all were that the middle sister was excluded. We didn't think it was right, but that's the way it's always been, always. The Power of Two. You've never been able to deal with it! And when Prue died everything was left to me. I was just really lucky that Paige came along when she did."

"But that's not right." Piper was becoming exhausted now trying to explain this again and again. "It's not right Phoebe, I swear. It should be the Power of Three."

Phoebe huffed and slumped into an armchair. "Okay, it's not right. You keep saying that and it's something that you've thought it for years, we all know that, but you have to give me something more to go on, saying 'it's the way it should be' doesn't make it true, I'm sorry Piper"

Piper continued, her voice beginning to crack with emotion. "Phoebe you remember the Angel of Destiny? He gave us the opportunity to relinquish our powers, sorry; gave _you_ the opportunity to relinquish _your _powers when The Source was finally vanquished; the day I found out I was pregnant with Wyatt?" Phoebe didn't look up she just nodded. "Well this time when I died the Angel of Destiny came to me and after a long drawn-out conversation he finally made me an offer."

"An offer? What kind of offer?" Paige asked. Piper's eyes never once left Phoebe; she was the sister that needed convincing not Paige.

"I could come back to my family and live happily ever after on one condition. I had to relinquish my powers and live as a mortal – just plain old Piper Halliwell. Wife of an Angel. Mother to two half Angels and sister to The Charmed Ones, but not magical myself." Phoebe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms obviously as tired of the story as Piper was of telling it. "Please Phoebe." Piper begged, tears were beginning to dampen her eyes. "I am telling you the truth; the only problem is that I have absolutely no idea of how to make you see it!"

Piper wiped a tear away before it slid down onto her cheek. Phoebes' face softened a little as she watched her older sister drop her head and shoulders in defeat. Phoebe sighed and rubbed her temple. Piper had a point. As witches Paige and Phoebe had been through all sorts of unfathomable situations, things that had made no sense right up until the last second. It was even true that time itself had been altered both backwards and forwards for the Halliwell sisters, family members had been wiped from memories, and different worlds had been created to try to fool them. As much as Phoebe hated to admit it. Piper could be right.

Pipers' gaze was still directed towards the floor when Phoebe looked towards Leo and then to Paige. Both waited with bated breath for Phoebes' next move. Paige and Leo were leaving the next call to Phoebe and more than anything Phoebe hated being in charge.

"So." Phoebe finally said. Piper lifted her head to look towards her sister. "You used to be a witch huh?" Phoebe smiled.

Relieved slightly, Piper smiled back...

**_A/N- This is such fun...!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

"I'm telling you, that won't work!"

Paige, Phoebe, Leo and Piper had moved from the Manor sitting room upstairs into the attic. Piper was amazed at how everything seemed exactly the same throughout the house, having not been a witch all these years had obviously done very little to effect their daily living. Everything was precisely where it had always been, the furniture, the ingredients for potions in the kitchen cupboards, and even the attic was laid out exactly the same, there was just one thing that was different. The Book of Shadows. The Triquetra that had for many years stood embossed on its cover had gone. The three points of the Triquetra had once signified the unity of the sisters, the unity of The Power of Three, but The Power of Three was no-more. Where once it had stood two P's now shone out back to back from the cover, symbolizing the pairing and strength of Phoebe and Paige as The Power of Two. Piper felt sick to her stomach when she looked at it.

"How do you know it won't work Piper?" Phoebe asked. "How can you be so sure that using the spell to call for a witches lost powers will have no effect?" Phoebe slammed shut the Book of Shadows.

"Don't forget I'm not a witch in this reality," Piper said as she lifted Chris from his playpen. "In theory I never have been, remember." Piper ginned at Chris. "Hi little buddy, what you doing?" Chris giggled uncontrollably.

"So we can't call for your powers? We can't scry for your powers? We're not going to find your powers lying around the house anytime soon so we're pretty screwed by the sounds of things." Phoebe turned to Piper. "Running out of options here sis."

"Maybe it would help if we actually knew what powers we were looking for?" Paige said tossing the last ingredient into her mixing pot causing a small explosion and making baby Chris jump a little. "Sorry, but if we knew a little more about them we might be able to get them back a little easier."

All eyes focussed in on Piper in anticipation.

"Oh, right. Good idea Paige." Paige smirked a little as Piper handed Chris to Leo. "I could freeze things and I could blow things up." Piper said a little matter-of-factly.

"Pretty cool." Paige said as she filled the third and final phial with steaming potion. "I didn't think anything could beat being able to orb, but blowing things up? Now that's a power!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. I could do both by just flicking my fingers."

"What? You were able to freeze things and blow stuff up with the same action?" Phoebe asked sounding more impressed than she had an hour ago.

"Yep, like this." Piper flicked her fingers the same as she had done a million times before only this time nothing happened. "A little on the blink right now though." Piper said shoving her hands into her jeans pockets.

"This is impossible!" Phoebe returned to The Book of Shadows, flicking through its dusty pages. "I just don't see how we have any chance of getting your powers back when in this reality you didn't have any powers in the first place. Vicious circle springs to mind."

"Maybe we're just looking at this from the wrong angle." Leo said as he placed Chris back into his play-pen. "Like Piper says, in this reality she never had magical powers; therefore there are no powers to find."

"I'm with you on that one." Piper said pointing towards her husband. "The problem is that I'm just not sure where we go from there."

"All I know is that searching for non-existent magic is only a waste of time and energy." Leo added.

"You got that right." Phoebe looked exhausted resting her head against the Book of Shadows.

"So," Leo continued. "Let's go at it from a different angle then. We need to forget about your missing powers for now Piper and we need to concentrate more on the shift of time lines."

"Time what?" Paige questioned her brother-in-law. "Although I bet that I'm going to wish I hadn't asked."

"Time lines. Time being the past, present and future as a continuous whole." Leo said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Ok, ok." Piper said. "Leo's right, there's absolutely no point in looking for powers I never had. But give it to me in laymen's terms here Leo; things are kind of taking a flight-path right over my head now. How screwed am I?"

All eyes focused on Leo as the sisters waited expectantly for his answer.

"I don't know." Leo said honestly. "I'm sorry but I really don't. What I do think is that we could find a really simple solution for all of this or….." Leo paused.

"Or…?" Piper repeated.

"Or this could be it. You could be like this forever."

Leo's heart sank as he watched Piper flop into the armchair flicking her fingers as if her powers would return at any second.

She sighed. "Well I guess it's what I always wanted, what I've always dreamed of." Piper smiled at Leo. "We always wanted a normal life didn't we? No magic, no Demons. Knowing that the boys would be safe no matter what happened." Piper dropped her gaze. "I just thought that if it did happen I would have always have had a choice in the matter. One thing I never expected my power-loss to be forced upon me, especially through my own stupidity."

Leo took his wife's hand. "We'll get through this Piper. We'll figure something out and get everything back to normal. I promise."

"At least I still have you."

"Forever Piper." Leo kissed Piper's hand.

"Hello? Mr and Mrs Smoochy?!" Phoebe yelled. "Really happy for you both and all but we should really get beck to figuring out this time-loop, time-line thingy, whatever the hell it is before something a little more demonic gets a whiff and we end up even more in the do-do than we were to begin with. Know what I'm saying?"

Leo snapped back into action. "You're right. If everything that Piper has said is true then who's to say that the Power of Two is going to be as strong as the Power of Three would be. It would make sense."

"You mean we could be weaker?" Paige asked.

"In a nut shell, basically yes." Leo answered. "And if you are then the Underworld could be sensing it already."

"Okay." Phoebe said nervously jumping up and joining Leo beside Piper. "I seriously get the heebie-jeebies when I know the Underworld can 'sense' things about us."

"Me too." Paige came from behind her potion table and stooped behind Piper's chair.

"Hey, hey!" Piper objected. "Can we stop using me as a human shield here please?"

"Sorry honey, but I don't see why not." Paige said as she completely ducked down. "You're the only one of us that's entirely safeguarded against danger here; I guess the safest place in a hundred mile radius is right behind you."

"This is ridiculous." Piper was swatting at Paige as far as she could reach around the armchair. "Leo!" It only took that one word from Piper to snap Leo back into Whitelighter mode.

"Okay Paige, that's enough." Pulling her to her feet and escorting her back to her potions. "You may be slightly more exposed right now but you still are the Power of Two, which still counts for something. We just have to watch our backs a little more not loose the plot altogether."

"Right, got it." Paige said returning to her potions and pulling herself together. "No panicking."

"No Panicking." Piper confirmed pointing from Phoebe to Paige and back again. "Not until we seriously need to panic okay? And then as the oldest sister I get to panic first. Got it?" Phoebe and Paige nodded in unison. "Good."

Phoebe opened the Book of Shadows for the umpteenth time and began scouring the delicate pages that she'd searched for the last three hours huffing as she went. Paige was flicking through a book of her personal notes searching for a spell or scribble that mentioned something about time -loops or alternate realities, anything that she might have jotted down that could be of any use to her older sister. Leo was back at Pipers side.

"Could you not just go find his sorry ass?" Piper snarled.

"Piper." Leo was shocked at his normally placid wife's comment.

"I'm sorry honey." Piper turned to the attic window. "It's just that he put me here, I'm guessing that he's the only one that can put all of this right again. Don't you think?" Piper looked up expectantly at her husband.

"Maybe." Leo said lowering his voice. "The problem is finding him Piper."

"Finding him?" Piper asked. "Why would finding him be sure a problem? You're an Angel he's an Angel, surely you have some sort of radar for each other?"

"The Angel of Destiny is different. For years and years he has mapped out peoples futures but not always to their liking Piper." Piper shrugged indicating to Leo she didn't know what difference that would make. "The Angel of Destiny can change someone's whole life for better or for worse. So the people who have their lives changed for the better are usually happy about it right?" Piper nodded as she listened intently "But what's happened to you just goes to show that sometimes people aren't happy with what he's done. So what happens then? They go looking for him."

"And get him to reverse things?" Piper asked.

"Or worse." Leo continued. "Some want revenge, they'll do anything to get back to what they think is normality, that includes finding the Angel and by any means necessary will try to get their way."

"Hence why he's so hard to find?" Piper stood and walked away from Leo ringing her hands, things weren't looking any brighter for her. "God knows I'd leave town pretty quickly if people wanted a piece of me twenty four hours a day seven days a week." Closing her eyes on the fading daylight Piper sighed deeply. "You know, wanting and wishing for something so badly for such a long time is one thing Leo. But having your wish granted can be a real pain in the ass. You kind of wish you could take the first wish back. How ironic is that?"

Leo laid his hand on Pipers shoulder, he knew exactly how she felt, he himself had wished for years to have a normal life with his family. Leo had wanted to be relieved of his Whitelighter duties and be able to play out his days on earth as a mortal, it was harder than it had first seemed when it actually happened. Leo felt for his wife.

As the eldest Halliwell sister Piper had become complacent about being listened to and more importantly about being taken seriously, it came with the territory. As she opened her eyes again to the sun finally dipping in the distance Piper took a deep breath and vowed to herself to come through the other side of this one. It had been a long day but there was work to do. As a second small explosion erupted from Paige's potion pot Piper turned and smiled at her husband.

"I guess I'll think harder about what I wish for from now on."

"Honey, I promise we'll get through this, everything will be just as it always was." Leo stoked Pipers face as she looked him in the eyes and whispered.

"Leo, I'm beginning to think I should just let sleeping dogs lie."

"I think I got something." Phoebe announced. Piper didn't notice the worried look spreading across Leo's face as she walked towards her sister.

"So, you still thinking I'm crazy sis?"

"Maybe not," Phoebe's eyes were firmly fixed on a crinkled page in the Book of Shadows. "Well not as crazy as I first thought anyway, not according to this." Phoebe jabbed her finger at the page as Piper came to her side.

"What does it say?" Paige said as she concentrated on filling a phial of the potion she had concocted.

"It's some kind of warning." Phoebe continued. "I just never noticed it before now." Phoebes' fingers traced over the words as she read.

"Tears from the heavens as three become two,

Once witch now just mortal but nothing rings true,

Take heed of my warning and stay where you are,

Home is not home now, home is too far……."

Phoebes' words trailed off. "Piper. It's in your hand writing."

"What? Let me see that." Piper pulled the book away from Phoebe and stared hard. "But… I don't… That could mean anything!" Piper stammered while shoving the book back to Phoebe. "What's to say it's relevant to this situation?"

"Seems pretty relevant to me Piper." Phoebe closed the book and placed it back on its stand. "And being in your own hand writing only makes it more relevant. With everything that you've said, and ok if it's all true then we'll deal with that, but this to me Piper seems like a pretty strong warning to yourself to not mess with this and to stay put."

"She might be right Piper." Leo said turning from the window "Maybe staying put is the best idea; you wouldn't have warned yourself if you didn't need warning."

"What warning?" Piper exclaimed "That could mean anything Leo! And come to think about it, if I wanted to warn myself I wouldn't have used code!"

"Piper this isn't code!" Phoebe raised her voice. "Once witch now a mortal? You think that's code?" Phoebe stared in disbelief at her sister. "That to me is pretty damn clear Piper. You're telling yourself that it's dangerous to try and change things again."

"So what?" Piper spat. "You think I'm going to listen to that? I want my life back Phoebe, and a few scribbles in the Book of Shadows are not going to stop me." Piper span around away from Phoebe and thrust her fingers through her long dark hair. Phoebe was infuriated with Pipers' attitude but held her tongue.

Suddenly a roar emanated throughout the Manor causing the walls to judder and vibrate. Paige's neatly aligned potion bottles began chinking together, colourful mixtures inside swaying left to right. A shelve behind Phoebe buckled and collapsed onto a bookcase, causing her to squeal and jump in shock towards Paige. Books and trinkets tumbled from their places and onto the floor. Leo instinctively darted towards Piper who had thrown her body over Chris's crib, Piper might have forgotten that she was without powers but Leo hadn't, he wanted to protect her and his son as much as he could.

"What's going on?" Phoebe shouted over the commotion, still hanging on to Paige. "Is it an earthquake?"

"No." Piper Answered. "I think I know what's going on. He's come back."

All eyes focussed on Piper as the violent shuddering continued.

"Who's back?" Phoebe screamed as another roar exploded throughout the house.

"It's the Litgar Demon." Piper shouted, she could hardly hear herself over the noise. "The Demon that hurt Paige and killed me. He's back."

"Back?" Paige questioned. "What do you mean _back _Piper? He was never here in the first place."

A familiar bright light began to fill the attic.

Although Piper knew no-one would hear her over the noise she screamed her final warning.

"Take cover! He's back to finish what he started……………………"

**_A/N- working hard on the next chapter guys, hope you don't think it's too long? please let me know what you do think, all reviews are welcome! ;)_**


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